Given the choice between attending a con in Rosemont or downtown Chicago, I choose downtown.  Outside the con itself, it was great to be in the heart of the city (which I love) and experience different opportunities after the show floor closed.  I also loved how calm the show felt considering it was the first year.  I don’t know what I was expecting, but I certainly expected to hear of more problems than I did.  Nothing against the people from Reed, but it was the first year for the show.  I wouldn’t have counted it against them, but instead they deserve many, many kudos for putting together a great show.  I have no doubt it will only get better.

I need to apologize to people who might have heard on episode 203 that I took pictures and video during some of the panels at the show.  I came home from Chicago with a virus on my computer and just got it back a couple days ago.  They’re coming soon.  I promise.

Recent comics

Booster Gold #31 was yet another issue of this book that made me happy that I decided to pick up the book about six months ago.  I’ve said before that I haven’t always been a fan of Booster (my first introduction to him was in 52), but I have really been enjoying his turn as a guardian of the time stream.  And let’s not forget the greatness that is his supporting cast.  He’s the least informed of the whole cast, and that requires a great deal of trust on his part.

I’m beyond excited to see how the Time Masters are going to factor into the Return of Bruce Wayne mini that’s coming up next month.  Sure, I think we can all make a logical leap and figure it out, but I have come to love the way they are factoring in to the history of the DCU.

Action Comics #888’s last page (of the main feature) was killer for me.  That image of Chris Kent finally feeling the Nightwing entity and breaking out of that pseudo-Phantom Zone-thingy to help Thara is absolutely haunting.  I honestly fear for the lives of Chris and Thara past War of the Supermen.  Hopefully, they will get the opportunity to serve as supporting characters in one of the Superman books in some capacity, especially now that they’re finally being fleshed out a good deal.

It’s hard to determine where they would be a good fit at this point, especially since we don’t know exactly what the status quo will be at the end of May in the Superman books.  Do they both survive?  Does only one survive?  Do they both die?  The book they fit in depends on the outcome.  But my vote is that they survive and the writers find a good storyline for Superman, Zod, and a grown up Chris Kent, mostly because I’m sure Zod is going to take exception to Chris wearing the crest of the House of El.

Quick words

Secret Six–one word: guh.

Batgirl– Quite possibly my favorite Bat-book right now.  My love for Stephanie Brown right now is great, mostly because of the way her maturation is being handled.

Supergirl– Time travel confuses me, but I’m determined to figure out the whole Brainiac 5/Supergirl thing.  But I’m still Super-excited (pun is totally intended) for May and the big War.

Justice League of America– Right now I have a great deal of confidence in James Robinson to make the JLA great.  To me, he’s taking characters we never would have thought of putting together and making us say, “why didn’t I think of that?”  And I know it’s very shallow of me, but I like the Mikaal Tomas Starman much better since he sprang for a haircut.

That’s all for now, but hopefully I’ll have some pictures and/or video from C2E2 this week, as long as more thoughts on the recent releases.

I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. Within the last month or so, DC has announced that writers on three major books are leaving said book. In one case, the writer left DC altogether. From a fan’s perspective, it might be easy to conclude that things will go downhill from here on out, or that now is a good time to either drop or pick up the book, depending on how you felt about the writer’s run on the book.

Personally, I wish these writers all the best of luck with their upcoming projects.  And I have some great comic book memories of their time on their respective books.

Gail Simone: Wonder Woman

For the longest time, I just didn’t get Wonder Woman.  I had nothing against her as a character; I simply just didn’t feel like I understood her.  Gail Simone’s run changed all that for me.  Gail’s Diana is the definitive version for me right now (and I’ve gone back and read some of the earlier stuff, too).  Maybe I’m a little biased because she’s the first long-term writer of the character that I have experience reading, but oh well.  Gail’s interpretation of Diana has me genuinely loving this character right now and really getting a strong idea of who she is as a person.

And who is Diana as a person?  One of the things I love is that I feel Gail has given her a vulnerability that makes her more accessible.  My idea of Wonder Woman in the past was always that she was this crazy Amazon princess woman who knew how to fight extremely well.  But through all of the adventures Gail has taken Diana on througout her run on the series, I feel like the character is more fleshed out than she was even when the series was relaunched.  Sure, Diana knows how to handle angry gods, but how does she handle a monster like Genocide?  Or even the prospect of love, marriage, and possibly children?

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